The City of North Tonawanda wants to turn one of its municipal office buildings into a full-fledged community center and is looking for state funding to go with a bond to finance the work.
At its Aug. 5 meeting, the North Tonawanda Common Council approved a 25-year $15 million bond resolution that would help finance it and attract state grant funding.
Mayor Austin Tylec said this bond is part of a grant application the city is applying for called NY Bricks, a new program announced in June, where $100 million is available for recreational infrastructure. Applications were due Friday, with awards to be announced no earlier than Nov. 1.
The city plans on applying for $10 million to help cover costs for the $15 million project.
“These grants often require a commitment from the community, and this bond resolution helps our chances of getting the grant,” Tylec said.
Tylec said he and Parks and Recreation Director Alex Domaradzk have been discussing this for the past two years, as rents and utility prices have gone up at the various locations where these services are now. They first considered a church building at the corner of Wheatfield and Bryant Streets at a cost of under $1 million, before they decided it was too small and did not have enough parking.
The plans call for renovating a city-owned building at 500 Wheatfield St., which houses the city’s Parks & Recreation department, the Department of Community Development, and a county Motor Vehicle Office. It would also house the city’s senior center, recreation center, and youth programming, as a gymnasium and new lobby are added.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Northtowns is also looking to schedule some of its activities at 500 Wheatfield St.
Design documents will be complete by the end of the year, with the project going out to bid early next year. If everything goes according to plan, the construction and renovations should take 10 months and be finished by the end of next year.
If the city does not get this grant, it would consider other funding options; otherwise, the bond would dissolve. Tylec said the common council does not intend to finance this bond without a grant assisting it.